Turns Out That Being Stubborn Makes You Live Longer

Health & Beauty

Posted on December 14, 2017
by Tiffany Herbrik

Ask almost anyone how long they want to live, and most people will answer with “forever”. However, that isn’t exactly possible, but there is a way you can extend your life and that’s by doing one simple thing… being stubborn.

A new study published in International Psychogeriatrics focused on the examination of the mental and physical health levels of a group of Italians aged between 90 and 101 who lived in the Southern Italy in remote villages. The study found a shocking number of similarities between the group and concluded that the elderly participants had a better mental well-being than their younger family members.

The study also surveyed the younger members of the participants’ families and were asked to describe the personalities of their older relatives. It was then found that the participants who had stubborn personality traits actually appeared to live the longest.

The researchers reckon that being stubborn is psychologically beneficial because stubborn people tend to care less about the opinions of others.

“There have been a number of studies on very old adults, but they have mostly focused on genetics rather than their mental health or personalities… The main themes that emerged from our study, and appear to the be the unique features associated with better mental health of this rural population, were positivity, work ethic, stubbornness and a strong bond with family, religion and land.” said lead author of the study, Professor Dilip V. Jeste.

Jeste and the rest of the team plan to follow up on this study with more longitudinal studies in order to get more reliable results.

Until then, don’t take no for an answer and continue to be stubborn. Who knows, you just may gain immortality if you’re stubborn enough!